Show ContentsDelagas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Delagas is generally believed to be derived from the Old French word "gast," which means "untilled,"and accordingly, the original bearer must have owned unused arable land. A French family in the ancient region of Auvergne was the first to use the name Delagas.

Early Origins of the Delagas family

The surname Delagas was first found in Auvergne, a historic province in south central France where this distinguished family held a family seat in the seigneurie of Chassagny in the arrondisement of Beaune, in the Lyonnaise region of Auvergne.

By the 13th century they had located at Bois St. Just as one of their principal seats. Through intermarriage with the distinguished family of Trouin they became seated at Trouin du Guay. They moved north to île-de-France in the region of Paris, a branch of which moved west to Anjou, also west to Guyenne and Gascony, and to Brittany. Later they acquired the estates of Varennes at Catonière in Lyon. Gaspard Dughet was a French designer and painter, 1615-1675. They flourished on their estates for many centuries until the French Revolution in 1789.

Jacques Duguay, born in 1647, son of Michel and Catherine (née Lebret), was a French surgeon that settled in Canada in the 17th century. He married Jeanne Beaudry, daughter of Urbain and Marie-Jeanne (née Soulard), at Trois-Rivières, Quebec on 21st November 1672. 1

Early History of the Delagas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Delagas research. The years 1615, 1673, 1675 and 1736 are included under the topic Early Delagas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Delagas Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Delagas, including Dugas, Dugaz, Duguè, Ducas, Duguet, Dugay, Duguay, Dughet, Duguet, Duguie, Dugue, du Gas, du Guay and many more.

Early Notables of the Delagas family

Another 24 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Delagas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Delagas family

Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. In 1793, the remaining French in these provinces came under British rule. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Delagas were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Delagas were Abraham Dugas, of Brittany, whose marriage to Marguerite Doucet was on record in Port Royal in 1645; Michel-Sydrac Dugay of Brittany, who was on record in Quebec in 1665.



  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


Houseofnames.com on Facebook